Ayva Tatlısı

The seeds and cores go into the pan with the fruit, because that is where the pectin is that sets the syrup.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains dairy (clotted cream).

Ingredients

• 4 large quinces
• 400 g granulated sugar
• 500 ml water
• 8 cloves
• juice of ½ lemon

to serve

• 300 g clotted cream
• 3 tablespoons walnuts, chopped

Method

1. THE SEEDS AND CORES GO INTO THE PAN WITH THE FRUIT, because that is where the pectin is that sets the syrup. The quinces are halved and the cores scooped out -- and then those cores and all the seeds are tied in a scrap of muslin and dropped into the pan to cook alongside. Quince seeds are remarkably rich in pectin, far more so than the flesh, and over two hours they turn the cooking liquid from a thin sugar syrup into something that sets to a glossy, lightly jellied sauce as it cools. Thrown away, the dessert is poached quince in sugar water, and the syrup stays watery no matter how far it is reduced.
2. THE FRUIT IS COOKED CUT-SIDE DOWN, HOLLOW UPWARD LATER. Halves laid cut-side down in the syrup for the first hour so the exposed flesh takes up the liquid and colours, then turned hollow-side up for the second so the cavity fills with syrup. Left one way throughout, one face is pale and firm.
3. IT GOES DEEP PINK AND THAT TAKES TWO HOURS. Quince flesh is cream-coloured raw and turns through amber to a deep rose-red over long slow cooking as its tannins change. That colour is the sign the dessert is properly done -- more reliable than a skewer. At forty minutes it is tender and still pale yellow, and it tastes thin and astringent.
4. THE PEEL IS LEFT ON FOR THE COOKING. It holds the halves together over two hours, and it carries both pectin and the aromatic compounds. It is left on when served, or slipped off at the end if preferred -- but not before cooking.
5. IT IS COOKED COVERED AND VERY SLOWLY. Lid on, the barest simmer. Quince toughens if boiled hard -- it goes fibrous rather than tender, which is the opposite of what happens to most fruit and catches people out.
6. IT IS COOLED IN THE SYRUP AND SERVED COLD WITH CLOTTED CREAM. Cooled in the pan, so the jellying syrup sets around the fruit. The unsweetened thick cream against the very sweet fruit is not a garnish but the other half of the dish.
7. The quinces WASHED but NOT PEELED, halved, and the cores and seeds scooped out.
8. The CORES AND ALL THE SEEDS tied in a scrap of muslin.
9. The sugar, water and lemon juice heated in a wide pan until the sugar dissolves.
10. The quince halves laid in CUT-SIDE DOWN, with the cloves and the MUSLIN BAG of cores and seeds.
11. Lid on, and cooked at the BAREST simmer 1 HOUR.
12. The halves TURNED HOLLOW-SIDE UP and cooked a further 1 HOUR.
13. TESTED: the flesh should be DEEP ROSE-RED and completely tender. Pale yellow means it needs longer, however soft it is.
14. The muslin bag lifted out, SQUEEZED into the pan, and discarded.
15. COOLED COMPLETELY IN THE SYRUP, which will set to a light jelly.
16. Served cold, each half with clotted cream in the hollow and walnuts scattered over.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Turkey · All recipes